Another Oral Ordeal: Cracked Tooth Part 2

When I left the clinic on Sunday morning, the parting words from the dentist was to "try to eat normally". I was to try out the newly metal banded tooth for 2 weeks before deciding if I can leave it as it is (fat hope), do root canal and crowning (50% chance of success) or simply extract and implant. The dentist told the receptionist to fix the next appointment *within a month* and I was given an appointment one month later. That is why we need to learn English or listening comprehension in school. Haiz.

What was nice was that right before I stepped out of the treatment room, the dentist must have seen my anxiety and gave me his mobile number. I could call/ text him if the pain worsen. So nice. 

The upper right 2nd last molar must be the culprit bcos the severe pain went away immediately after the metal banding. However, the tooth was very sore. The glue/ metal band/ whatever seems to have affected my bite and I had problem eating. People who just had their braces must feel this way and on every single tooth! Such agony. Poor thing. I have not eaten so slowly in my life. No joke. 

There was a constant dull ache the entire Sunday and the cracked tooth was sore and impossible to bite. By night time, I was exhausted and turned in early only to wake up at 11ish feeling tired and upset. I was biting down and hurting the tooth, hoping that it would numb the pain. Then I was thinking to yank out the metal band and tooth. I must be dreaming. Even though it is a cracked tooth, it is still firmly rooted. I even had the rash thought to call the dentist. Heng I managed to hold that act. In the end, Panadol came to the rescue and I was finally able to rest in peace. 

The dull ache was better on Monday morning. I cannot imagine to survive 1 month in that state. I don't even know if that pain is normal. I whatsapp the dentist who immediately called me back. *Double heart* He said that I should go back for a final consultation before deciding the next course of action. It was fixed on Thursday afternoon.

I have to say that the pain has become more manageable with each passing day. While I still cannot bite on the tooth, the pain that comes with the accidental bite has also lessen with each day. My diet had been soft food for that 4 days. The only protein that I could take is fish that doesn't take too much chewing. 

Cake serves me very well too bcos they dissolve quickly.

I know, my diet didn't look very healthy. I was overjoyed when I found biscuits and milo. Never mind that they are soggy; I need them to be soggy.

I headed back to the dentist on Thursday thinking that I will have a decision on the next step. I was inclined towards root canal bcos that is fully covered by the company's insurance. Haha. 

The dentist must have forgotten about asking me to come back bcos we didn't have a decision. He fixed the bite issue though. How? He went grinding and grinding until he was satisfied that it wasn't protruding. While at it, he commented that he would grind somemore since most of it will go away eventually. Then, he went back to his "try and eat normally and come back 2 weeks later". In his opinion, it is likely to be an extraction and implant unless the pain goes away and I can eat normally even using the cracked tooth. 

I had thought that the dentist was grinding on the metal band and was in shock to find that surface of that molar now flat - seriously flat like a platform. Now when I bite, the tooth was totally out of the way bcos it is shorter than the other teeth. Daddy Lim says that I now have a cracked mini tooth. Hoho. 

My bite has definitely gotten much better after that fix. I was happily munching on crackers and eating noodles this afternoon. Yes, it is an official end to my unplanned cracked tooth diet. I am sure the weight that was lost over the 5 days would rebounce faster than I can blink. Hahaha. 

I also told the dentist that the metal band is cutting into my cheek. His answer? Suck thumb and bear with it. Zzzzzzz.

Mummy Lim

CNY Gathering

Last Sunday, we gathered for CNY at Ms Teo's place. We are now getting very good with this adult only gatherings and they are very peaceful too. Hoho. 

Ms Teo's place is at far far away Tampines. I almost faint when I saw that it would take me 1.5 hour by MRT then bus to reach her place. Trust me, I was prepared to do so if not for the dental visit that screwed up the schedule. Ended up, my pocket was $30 lighter. Very far. 

We had planned to meet at 12noon for lunch. It was already 12pm when I stepped out of the house. 

The early birds get the mee sian, chicken wings and 8 treasure porridge. No lah, there were plenty to go around and it didn't make much difference to me; I could barely bite. 

It was full force this time. As usual, the conversations, catching up, topics and laughter never at once ceased during the visit. 

We had to get our customary pictures too. This time got official memo, either ang ang or hway hway.

Almost 30 years of friendship. S**t, I just revealed my age. No lah, I knew them at birth. 

Like how the gatherings had been, this is just as enjoyable. God's previous gifts to me. I look forward to the next gathering but can be nearer or not? Lol. 

Mummy Lim

Another Oral Ordeal: Cracked Tooth

I hate going to the dentist. So much so that I avoid the dentist unless necessary. It took me a long time to summon enough courage for the wisdom tooth removal. I dragged until one of the bottom one was rotten and caused a horrible toothache. I was so glad when all 4 were gone. I also had episode of gum diseases and had to undergo painful deep cleaning sessions. From there, I learnt that the routine "yearly" check cannot be missed. Ya, yearly is the best that I can do; going to the dentist once every 6 months is too daunting. I cannot. 

Daddy Lim and I just had our yearly check in December. The dentist said that all looked good and asked if I wanted to replace the very old dark fillings. He wasn't the only or 1st dentist to ask. Siao ah, 没事 replace for what? I asked about the chip last molar and the dentist said that nothing much can be done to prevent or repair the chip. With that, my visit concluded and I was happy to tick off the box until 12 months later. 

Last Friday, I thought my teeth hurt during dinner. It wasn't a particular tooth but my teeth generally hurt when I bite. I conveniently attributed the soreness to heatiness and it is no surprise considering the amount of CNY goodies that I have consumed in the recent days. 

The pain came back with a revenge on Saturday as an upper right jaw pain. It didn't feel like a particular tooth hurts, none of them feels shaky too. I also didn't find any swollen gum. It was a dull pain on the upper right jaw that come and go and turned intense at times. So much so that I had to pop Panadol in the late afternoon. I thought I would have problem sleeping but apparently not. Hohoho. Heng ah. I was still hoping that it is heatiness. Heatiness is definitely an easier problem to any other oral problem.

This morning, I thought I felt the pain when preparing for the ride. I was contemplating popping some Panadol before the ride only to read that it wouldn't be a good idea. Then again, if the pain is really that bad, I probably shouldn't be riding. Just as fast as the pain came, it left and we were on the road. 

I managed the ride ok. The pain hit a few times and there were certain times that the pain was so intense that I had to concentrate hard to tolerate the pain. Interestingly, I didn't have any problem with bfast. 

Things were less rosy when home. The pain hit, it was intense and it took me a while to get over it while waiting for the Panadol to kick in. That was why I decided to go to the dentist. Popo was telling me that it should be heatiness. I hope too; the last time I had gum pain and Popo said that it was heatiness, it turned out to be a gum infection that was treated with a course of antibiotics. 

There were limited dental clinics that are opened on Sunday. Bcos it was a walk-in, I was told that it could be a long wait. What to do? I found myself at the Q&M JP clinic, hoping that it wouldn't take too long. Fortunately not. 

The dentist checked my teeth and said that he cannot see anything that can helped him diagnose immediately. He did see cracks on 2 of my molars but not all cracked tooth resulted in pain and ordered an x-ray.  After some checking, knocking and questions, he deduced that the culprit is the 2nd last upper right molar. The crack was visible and the old filling is coming out. It was also painful upon impact. 

The solution? A metal band was put around the crack tooth to see if that helps and also to make sure that it is the source.

If it does help, then it means that the tooth can be saved via a root canal and crowning. If it doesn't, then extraction is the only way to go and thereafter, an implant can be considered. Sob. 

The procedure was done quickly. The metal band was put around the tooth with some kind of glue and the glue was also on the tooth surface and my bite feels funny. The doctor says to "eat normally" and come back within the month to see if the band helps. If it doesn't or pain becomes more severe, then to go back to the clinic. 

I think it is probably the chip tooth bcos the intense pain went away thereafter. At times, I think I do feel this little nudging ache but tolerable. What is more irritating is to try to "use the tooth normally". With the knowledge that the tooth is now cracked and is the pain culprit, I barely dare to chew on my right side. Then my bite is affected on my left side bcos possibly of the glue. Lunch is an agony and I am so hungry now. Rooaaarrrr... 

By the way, when there is an ache in the gum/ teeth, the so-called heatiness is 骗人的. Just go and see a dentist. Hohoho. I was googling the causes of cracked tooth too and realised that those old dark colored tooth fillings is one possible cause of cracked tooth. Sob. Maybe I should have changed them out when the dentist asked me a long time back. 

My dinner is plained hor fan and I was so happy when I realised that I can eat fish. The happiest?

Mummy Lim

Home Improvement Project: Cookie

The kids have their 1st ever 4-legged pet in November 2020. It had been 3 months and Cookie is still very much alive. 

He gets fed once a day, usually in the morning and feeding is not my job. Daddy Lim or the kids will feed him. Unfortunately, I didn't get scot-free -- I am the cleaning auntie. Sob. 

Cookie's cage gets clean once a week, during the weekend. I do most of the washing and whether I get help or not is dependent on how loud I yell at people. Then again, I have become so efficient at this cage cleaning business that it didn't take me too long. Daddy Lim and the kids usually helped to man Cookie while I wash his cage and tunnel and they helped to fix up his cage when the washing is done. His tunnels get put out to dry and I usually fix up his tunnels a few days later, depending on when I remember to do so. Hoho. 

Cookie loves his tunnels. I think it gives him extra space to squirm and explore and that sometimes reduces his cage biting that usually takes place in the morning. Maybe he bites in the night as well while the humans are all in lala land. 

I am now super familiar with the fixing up of the tunnels but realized that in recent days, Cookie no longer access a certain part of the tunnel. Why? He is too fat le. Hohoho. 

He has definitely grew in the 3 months that we had him. 

See, he is a ball now! Hohoho. Takes after Zaky for sure and Cookie continues to love his food, certain food. He is sure one picky hamster. 

In certain parts of his tunnel, we have these skinny tubes.

When we 1st got him, he was so small and could u-turn in those tubes. Now, I caught him peddle with his little feet desperately trying to squirm through those tubes. No wonder he no longer go to the parts of the tunnel where he had to pass through those skinny tubes. I was also half wondering if he would one day get stuck and would need us to help "poke" him through. Hoho. 

This morning, I have "upgraded" his tunnel, replacing the skinny ones. 

The "new" upgraded tunnel is more complicated and atas. From 2 bedroom unit to 3 bedroom. Hoho. Yours truly now have more pieces of that tunnel to wash. Zzzzz. 

Mummy Lim

 

CNY 2021

This is the 2nd CNY in a row that we didn't go overseas. Last year, I just started new work and with the Covid-19 raving, we took the safer option and stayed in Singapore. Nobody had guessed that it was such a long stay-in. This year, going overseas was totally out of the question. Instead, it was a blessed long weekend of doing nothing (much). It was a much needed break for me and the doing nothing was good. 

We had Reunion Lunch one weekend earlier bcos Daddy Lim have to work on CNY Eve and wouldn't be home until late afternoon. Popo insisted that it can only be early and not late. Ok lor. I was carving for steamboat anyway. Hoho.

Whack ah!

So there was no reunion on CNY Eve? Impossible lor. Eat again.

It was at our place this time and bcos there was so much food, we had the same food for lunch and dinner. Then Popo and the kids went for a sleepover. Daddy Lim had to work on 初一, leaving me a lot of peace and quietness to catch up on backlog work. 

It was very blissful. The leftover food became my brunch along with the many tubs of CNY goodies. Hohoho. We bought more than usual CNY goodies this year since we are confined. The Company added more. 

What we didn't really buy was bak kwa. Never mind, eat at my brother's place. 

Daddy Lim and I headed over for dinner and to pick up the kids. Steamboat round 2. They were all done so these food were all ours. Like that how not to gain weight? 

The steamboat was followed by lou hei. Full never mind, 吃个意思. 

Bcos it was a super long weekend, Popo would have allowed the kids to sleepover for another night. But sleeping over is tiring work and Lil Shauna was dying to go home and sleep on her own bed. Lol. 

On 初二, Daddy Lim and I cycled with the WWF. Then it was nuahing, a much desired afternoon nap, more nuahing, before we finally made our way to Daddy Lim's Uncle's place for dinner. Bcos of the restriction, we had to split up the usual CNY gathering. We got to meet up with the little niece. The last time we saw her, she was barely walking. 

The big gorgor and jiejie did a great job entertaining the little one. Just a while back, Lil Shauna was this size too! See, see. Hoho.

初三 was spent nuahing somemore. I like. We talked about going for a picnic but apparently I wasn't the only lazy one. The only thing that we managed was dinner at IMM. 

I had no work and the kids had no school on 初四. I managed to book them a skating slot on 初四 morning. Hohoho. I so like the new booking system. There was some lag but it was 200x better than the old physical queuing system. I had thought about bringing the kids to movie after that but jiejie had to do homework. I was happy to spend the rest of the day doing nothing. So chill. 

With that, the long CNY weekend came to an end. I was sad on Monday. Apparently, no long weekend is long enough but am glad with the rest that I scored. Fighting!

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 9: New Skates

It had been a while since I blogged about the kids' ice skating classes. Lil Shauna is getting her week's long break from ice skating classes after her Elementary test. She didn't mind skating for fun but said no class. 

With Zaky coming onboard, he now takes the Sunday afternoon classes while Lil Shauna goes for the SISA ice on weekday afternoons. It had been a nightmare trying to get leisure ice skating slots for Lil Shauna for the same time that Zaky has lesson. I have spent multiple Sunday mornings sitting with my laptop and queuing outside the rink. I was so glad when I heard that the rink is turning to online booking. I have done my 1st online booking on Friday 12pm, setting multiple alarms to make sure that I was on time. It works! I am super thrilled! I hope that it will continue to be this easy for the future Sundays. 

Zaky is obviously very different from jiejie during his lesson. He is much more cheekier and sometimes playing afool. He has a lot less stamina than jiejie too, often sneaking a water break or simply dazed. I am starting to wonder if he is losing interest but he said that he is not. 

See! Still can pose for me during class. Faint. 

Zaky has also joined jiejie for off ice. He was so enthusiastic the very 1st time but the enthusiasm died down very quickly bcos it is hard work. Lol. 2 Sundays ago, he skipped bcos he claimed that he was too tired. Then last Sunday, off ice training was cancelled due to poor turn-out and Zaky was beaming from ear to ear. Hoho.

He had been using J's old skates, that were gifted to us, for a while. The skates were very fitting so much so that we had to remove the insole to create more toe wiggling space. We had been looking for new skates for him as his current pair wouldn't last very long. I was torn between a new pair and a 2nd hand one. The former would cost at least $300 with shipping for an entry level pair and there is the sizing risk. I had been scouting Carousell for many moons for a 2nd hand pair but there aren't many boy/ men skates on sale to begin with, given that it is a lady-oriented sports. I lost count of the number of sellers that I have chatted up and met up with 2 to realise that the sizing didn't fit. 

Finally, after much waiting, we found a pair on Carousell. The seller lives in a big (huge) house in Bukit Timah. I was in awe at the size of the house. Anyway, the main point is that we finally bought a 2nd hand pair of entry level skates that are brand new for $150. The skates had been sitting in the box for a couple of years but still looking good. 

Zaky tried the skates 2 weeks back to realise that the blades needed sharpening. I remembered that Lil Shauna's new skates were put to used immediately. Strange. Anyway, he finally got to use them last week after his class. I am sure it was much bigger that his current pair, I had to lace it much tighter and the boot leather is much softer given that it is entry level skates. They are even more basic than Lil Shauna's 1st pair of proper skates. 

It will take a while before the skates are worn in. I hope Zaky doesn't get nasty blisters like how Lil Shauna does in the past. 

Meanwhile, Coach informed that the competition is likely to be taking place in early April. I am so excited, much more than Lil Shauna, who insisted that she will not be competing. Hohoho. Don't waste, don't waste. 

Mummy Lim

The Boys' Turn

The boys were so jealous when Boo invited the jiejies for the sleepover. Though they had yummy food, escape ro and all of their mummies' attention, they whined that life is so unfair and that they didn't have a sleepover.

The chance came in the form of T's 11th bday. His bday party was to have a sleepover only for the boys. That sounded like a fantastic idea except that Auntie S' house is far far away in Tampines. Sob. I checked, taxi one way is about $30, that is like going to the airport! Wait, their house is indeed near the airport. Zzzzz. 

The plan was to send Zaky there on Friday night and then picked him up on Saturday noon for Maths. Unfortunately Daddy Lim had to work on Saturday morning and it would cost a lot of $$ (or a lot of time) to travel from LV to Tampines and back to JE for Maths. Ended up, I earned a sleepover as well, one that I wasn't very keen about. Lol. 

It was already 8pm by the time we arrived at T's house but the party had just started. Hoho. The boys were soon on their gadgets. C and AN challenged the aunties to nerds and the cards started flying. We were so engrossed that Auntie S wasn't able to move us and decided to just do the candle blowing and cake cutting with the boys. We stopped for yummy cake.  

The nerds then continued and didn't stop until nearing midnight. My eyes, my back, my legs! Lol. Auntie J finally left with AN and the room was set up for the boys. 

Despite so, the chatting didn't stop. The boys were still laughing and chatting and finally died down at about 1.30am. I had the sofa this time and it was an improvement as compared to the skinny yoga mat during the last "camping sleepover" at LV. I was trying to get into a comfortable position and missed my bed dearly. 

The night was rough. I woke up whenever I needed to change position, then it was to the lizard's calling. The lizard must be mocking me. Then it was the photoframe on the wall dropping and falling on me. That was a rude shock and it was 2x. Aiyo! Finally, the boys were up and started chatting again at 6.45am. At least the rough night was over. 

We had pratas for bfast. Before long, the boys were yelling that they were bored. We were so nice to bring them down. Auntie S must love me alot for sleeping over and helping out. Lol. 

Then adjourning to the playground for more fun. It was a fantastic way to expell the boys' energy. 

Nothing taste better than a sweet ice cream after a hot session at the playground.

With that, we headed home for shower and lunch. 

We had to leave at 1.15pm bcos it was a long drive to JE. The grab was almost $30. Zzzzz. I made Zaky nap in the car and I stole a much needed cat nap too. I am quite sure he managed to survive Maths bcos of the nap.

I hope that the next sleepover doesn't require me. It is so tiring. Hahahah. 

Mummy Lim

Jurong Bird Park

Bcos JBP is having their 50th year anniversary and the entrance fees for Singaporean is only $2.50 per pax for the month of January. With JBP still residing in one corner of Jurong West, there are too many reasons to visit JBP. Heng, heng, we managed to secure tickets on the last Sunday morning to visit the park with my brother's family. We bought tickets for Popo too and even bought tram tickets so that she didn't have to walk too much. 

Bcos we are busy people, we have booked the earliest 8.30am slot so that it leaves us time for lunch and part 2 Sunday's activities. We woke up early for bfast before visiting the park. There was no Q and we stoll right into the park. Popo decided that she wanted to rest her legs instead and didn't come along. Heng, the tickets are only at $2.50.

I have good memories of JBP. We used to have the annual pass bcos it is a fantastic place to visit on cooling weekend mornings. It was just the right size to spend a couple of hours with the kids, pushing them along in strollers. Yes, it was that long ago. 

Upon entering the park, we realised that there are now additional charges to explore certain areas/ catch the show, probably bcos the tickets were so cheap. It was an additional $2.50/ pax to each area/ show. There are still things to see without spending extras but we did pay to go into the parrot and penguin enclosures. 

Daddy Lim left at 10am for his swab test.

JBP is much smaller than what I had remembered. Maybe it was "smaller" now in relative to our "bigger" kids. Or maybe bcos we didn't catch the shows? Despite having to pay, Q started forming 1 hour before the show and I didn't have 1 hour to Q. Bcos of Covid-19, there was no opportunity to feed the lory too. I was so looking forward to that. Ended up, we were done with the park before 12pm. 

The remaining time was spent riding the tram. Hohoho.

Popo should have come; the tram covers the entire park, stopping at strategic spots. It was unlimited and we would probably sit on the tram to go round and around and around if we had the time. Quite slow lah. 

With that, we ended our JBP visit. Daddy Lim was also in time to pick us up. It will probably be a long time before we visit the park again. I need to forget how the birds look like before wanting to come back again. Haha. 

Mummy Lim

Still a Prefect

Zaky was selected as a Junior Prefect in P2 and almost lost his appointment in the same year but eventually made it to a full fledged prefect in P3. We often joked how they would select all the naughty kids to be prefects so that they would have to behave and be a role model. 

I still remembered how upset Lil Shauna was when she 1st learnt of his appointment. She claimed that she had wanted to be a prefect *all her life* but was never selected. She went on lamenting how blind the school was and how unfair the world is. Lol. We comforted her, telling her that she had a bigger appointment - she was the class monitoress and more than half her class were prefects including the Head and Vice Head Prefects and she monitors over them. No sweat. 

Covid-19 made learning a challenge in 2020, let alone CCAs or Zaky's prefect duties. I rarely hear him talks about it for the past year. Then in the beginning of this year, he suddenly told us that he was selected to attend the interview for the prefect execo committee. Huh? I have no idea what did the school sees in him. Then a couple of days later, he proudly told us that he had been elected as the Vice Head Prefect. What??!!!! 

I have no idea what he had done to be given the appointment. He can't even remember what he had replied in the interview. I jokingly asked if there were only 3 people in the running and all of them were appointed. Apparently not. Even jiejie is mega proud and congratulated him. She must have forgotten how unfair the world had been to her. My 1st tot was whether the new appointment would be helpful in the DSA, provided that he doesn't lose it in the coming years. Mummy thinks far leh. 

Soon, he came home proudly with his prefect vest and badge. He happily pose for me on the 1st day of donning the new vest before heading to school. 

What are the new and extra duties? No leh. Nothing seems different. 

Y'day, the Vice Head Prefect made me picked him up from school bcos he has a blocked nose. I would have ignored him if not for Covid-19. In these times, a blocked nose is a taboo and the school made me bring him home. He sure looked very healthy to me lest for a couple of sneezes throughout the day. 

On the way home, I saw his full prefect gear and couldn't bear to make him let me take some pictures. 

Vice Head Prefect or not, he is his mischievous self. 

Maybe he is a different Zaky in school or maybe the school sees something in him that we don't. Anyway, for memory sake. 

Mummy Lim